As soon as you complete the online application process and receive confirmation that your application has been received or hand a paper application to an elected NASUWT Representative, such as a Workplace Representative, you are classed as a member of the NASUWT and can take part in both strike action and action short of strike action where we have a current lawful mandate for this.

Everyone who was balloted and has had a letter informing them they are striking. New members who joined the union as a teacher in a local authority school after the ballot closed are also asked to strike.

Members who work in a Local Authority school are expected to strike. Members in some independent schools have a mandate to take strike action but they have been contacted separately regarding this.

No, members are not required to inform school management of their intention to strike and schools are not entitled to ask for this information.

Local Authorities are informed of the number of members per workplace, names are not provided.

No, you are on strike so you should not send in cover work, or mark any pupil’s work produced while you are on strike.

All members are expected to take strike action on both Tuesday 28 February and Wednesday 1 March.

Yes, at selected locations. Only members working in schools that are chosen for picket lines should attend a picket.

This will be confirmed in advance of the action.

Picket Supervisors will be given training in advance of the strike days.

Members working at the schools in question can picket their school only. Members must not, under any circumstances, attend a picket at a school at which they do not work.

This will be confirmed closer to the day, but is likely to be between 7:30am and 9am.

National strike action is not funded.

1/235th of your gross salary per day of strike action.

Only if you are actually on strike. If you are part-time and do not work on a day when strike action is taking place, no deduction will be made. The same applies to any members on maternity leave, off sick, etc. although the employer may ask you to provide a doctor’s sick note.

This is within the gift of the employer, but it is normally the first pay round after the action.

The usual requirements for benevolence apply - if taking the action will create exceptional hardship then members may apply to the Union for benevolence assistance. Further details can be found at NASUWT Benevolent Fund.

Teachers’ service is not broken by undertaking strike action. Members will not however accrue service on strike days – essentially service is paused for that day.

If you are contracted to work on the proposed strike day, then yes.

The person whose day is the strike day will lose pay, while the other will not.

The exemptions below apply to the strike action notified to take place on 28 February and 1 March only:

Special education

Members who work in hospital schools.

Residential schools

Members who work in residential schools and who are normally resident on site at the school.

Redundancy

Members who have received a formal notification of redundancy, which will take effect in April 2023.

Maternity

Members taking maternity leave in 2023 and with an expected week of confinement (EWC) from July 2023.

Any requests for exemptions relating to matters not listed above should be made in the first instance to the National Executive Member or the NASUWT Scotland Centre and will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Yes, as Local Authority employees they are covered by the action.

The one year Teacher Induction Scheme for Probationers does allow for some absences. As long as teachers do not miss more than 20 days they can still complete induction and reach the Standard for Full Registration (SFR).

For most Probationer Teachers, participation in strike action will not negatively impact their ability to reach SfR.

Should you be nearing the 20-day limit and are concerned, please contact us for an exemption.

INSTRUCTION: Members will not undertake cover for absent colleagues.

NASUWT members are instructed to not accept the direction of the Employer or Headteacher to provide cover for absence in circumstances where such direction:

• exceeds the 22.5 hours of class contact time;

• relates to the provision of cover for any advance notice absence of more than three days;

• relates to the provision of cover for any unplanned absences after three days.

INSTRUCTION: Members will not attend more than a maximum of one meeting per week, outside pupil session times, for a maximum of one hour.

Where members agree a pattern of meetings every two weeks, members may attend one two-hour meeting per fortnight.

Additionally, NASUWT members will continue to attend Parent Consultation meetings where these have been agreed in the school calendar/timetable.

The instruction says: ‘NASUWT members are instructed to not accept the direction of the Employer or Headteacher to provide cover for absence in circumstances where such direction:

• exceeds the 22.5 hours of class contact time;

• relates to the provision of cover for any advance notice absence of more than three days;

• relates to the provision of cover for any unplanned absences after three days.’

Each of the three ASOSA bullet points above should be considered on their own. If any one of the three is breached then an NASUWT member is entitled to challenge this, as suggested.

You should communicate the following to your line manager/Headteacher.

‘Dear XXXX

Further to your request to provide a cover class on dd/mm/yy period XX

I have been instructed by my union to not undertake cover for absent colleagues in circumstances where, in accordance with my contractual terms, such direction:

• exceeds the 22.5 hours of class contact time;

• relates to the provision of cover for any advanced notice absence of more than three days;

• relates to the provision of cover for any unplanned absences after three days.

Please confirm that the cover that you have asked me to undertake is in accordance with my contractual rights and complies with the above requirements.

Thank you.’

In the event that you do not receive satisfactory confirmation of the above, you should follow the direction of your Headteacher and report the matter immediately to the NASUWT at: [email protected]

If you have used the suggested wording with your employer and are still challenged, ask for a response in writing, undertake the cover meantime and alert the Scotland National Centre.

The NASUWT Workplace Representative (or, in the absence of such, the member themselves) can ask about the status of any absence and is entitled to be told the nature of it (e.g. if it is a sickness absence extending beyond three days).

Many schools operate open and transparent systems around cover and this should be the norm. If any school attempts to withhold information or seek to breach the NASUWT action instructions then contact should be made immediately with the NASUWT.

As long as the refusal to cover is within the terms of the NASUWT ASOSA instruction, nothing should happen except that our members do not have the additional cover burden.

How cover is arranged for those classes not being covered by NASUWT members is a matter for the Headteacher. Only NASUWT members are covered by the lawful mandate secured for Action Short of Strike Action. The response of colleagues in other unions to requests for them to undertake cover is a matter for them and their union.

If it is the usual practice in the school to facilitate the attendance of staff at these events, or if such matters are covered by local authority policy (e.g. Special Leave), then this should be applied fairly and transparently with all staff. If NASUWT members are denied a legitimate request to attend such events and are treated differently from others, the NASUWT should be contacted immediately.

Such teachers should continue to cover the NCCT/McCrone time of colleagues.

They should not cover for absent colleagues if this breaches the NASUWT ASOSA instruction on cover (see above).

If there is evidence that a school is reorganising the NCCT/McCrone time of other teachers in order to address staff absence, and this impacts on the NASUWT member employed to provide NCCT/McCrone cover, the member should contact the NASUWT for advice.

No member should exceed their contractual pupil contact hours. In these circumstances, you should write to the Headteacher using the suggested wording.

Some management staff may attempt to put pressure on teachers to break industrial action. If pupils do not have a teacher as a result of staff absence and an associated and legitimate refusal of an NASUWT member to provide cover then that is the responsibility of the school to address, not the individual teacher.

School management will need to make a decision on if/how such a class is covered. Any NASUWT member who feels they are being put under undue pressure in such circumstances should contact the Union for advice.

Members should ensure they have a timetable/calendar confirming their directed duties and the number of hours provided by the school to undertake these duties within the limit of the 35 hour working week.

Members are encouraged to refer to their Headteacher the following statement and request a written response:

‘Dear XXXX

I have been instructed by my union to not undertake more than one meeting per week outside pupil session times where such direction would exceed my contractual rights to a 35 hour working time limit.

You should be aware of your obligation to ensure that all professional duties assigned to me must be capable of being discharged within the maximum 35 hour weekly working time limit.

Please can you confirm in writing that you will not require me to attend meetings that may trigger a breach of my contractual rights.

Thank you.’

Where members agree a pattern of meetings every two weeks, members may attend one two-hour meeting per fortnight.

NASUWT members will continue to attend parent consultation meetings where these have been agreed in the school’s Working Time Agreement.

Where a member is directed to attend more than one meeting a week in circumstances that would require the member to work in breach of the 35 hour working time limit, please report the matter to the NASUWT immediately at [email protected]

If you have used the suggested wording with your employer and are still challenged, ask for a response in writing, undertake the instruction to attend meetings in the meantime and alert the Scotland National Centre.

These are events where whole cohorts of parents/carers are seen by a teacher (e.g. the parents/carers of your P2 class or your S2 class(es)). These are key events in the school year and an important part of a teacher’s contractual duties and are, therefore, not part of the Action instruction on meetings.

The NASUWT would not issue instructions to members that were not compliant with legislative provisions. Once a lawful ballot has been conducted, the Union is in a position to issue instructions for action in furtherance of its trade dispute.

If the conduct of the ballot is lawful then members participating in the action are covered by those provisions where they are following the action specified by the Union and notified to the employer.

Any member faced with such threats should advise their line manager that they will be contacting the NASUWT immediately. The NASUWT will then deal with the issue on behalf of the member.

The current action short of strike action instructions are supporting members in enforcing key provisions in their contract.

Any threat that an individual who refuses to comply with action instruction will be deemed to be in breach of contract is inappropriate.

All members have rights under Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights [ECHR], which provides that everyone has the right to freedom of assembly and to freedom of association with others, including the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of their interests.

NASUWT consider the making of improper threats, for the purposes of deterring our members from taking part in industrial action, to be a disproportionate and, therefore, unlawful interference with our members’ human rights.

Any deductions from the pay of any of our members, will result in the NASUWT undertaking legal action in order to enforce their rights. Furthermore, NASUWT would view any penalising of our members for taking lawful industrial action to be a very serious matter which may merit further escalation of the industrial action.

The action instructions will run for the duration of the current ballot mandate. The Union may also consider introducing new ASOSA instructions during the current ballot mandate.

Once a lawful ballot has been undertaken and the democratic result is in support of action, there is an expectation that all members will follow the action instructions issued by the Union.

Employers have been sent the information about the NASUWT action but it is always good practice for a Workplace Representative to meet with the Headteacher to make clear that members will be following the instructions.

It is important, however, that NASUWT Workplace Representatives do not make any arrangements to vary the instructions or agree to proposals from the Headteacher, without contacting the NASUWT for advice.

The NASUWT does not issue any personal data about members to employers and the law is quite clear that employers have no entitlement to ask for information about the union membership of individual teachers.

In practice, though, if members are applying the Action Short of Strike Action instructions, this will often require them to identify themselves as NASUWT members, given we are the only teacher trade union with a lawful ballot for Action Short of Strike Action.